“Nature can help you be more performant.”

What motivated you to participate in the Caribou training?

I am working in the field of sustainable finance and sustainability at large, so as a person I’m quite sensitive to the environment. My previous job was different because I was a financial auditor at a multinational audit firm, but I stopped there to start my own consulting business, Triple Line Advisory, focusing on sustainable management of companies. The Caribou training was a program that was interesting to me, so I signed up to be one of the first trainees.

What did you learn about nature connectedness during the course?

I realized that we forgot about the nature around us. It was explained in the training that hundreds of years ago we were part of nature, but today we forgot about it. The examples the trainers gave about the impacts of nature in your office, or about letting children look out of the window at school, and how this can help with concentration afterwards—this is what I still use today. I realize now that if you go out into nature, you feel more concentrated and more positive. 

What aspect of the course had the greatest impact on you?

Touching the earth in the forest had an impact on me because that’s something you do as a child. Then you touch the earth again and think, “Oh that’s how it felt. It’s been a long time since I did that.” You should not forget these things.

How do you think nature reconnection can support you and your business?

It’s really part of how I try to live my professional life. I concentrate on what’s around me and not just what’s on my table of administrative stuff. I go out for 30 minutes and then I come back and the work will be much faster. I use this for myself, and I talk about it with others. 

Could you share some of what was on the roadmap you developed for your business during the course?

I probably didn’t do everything on that roadmap. What I did was to have more green and nature in my office, I went outside to be in nature and recover. These were things on my roadmap because these were things I was never doing when I was working as a financial auditor. Now for my own company I can do them. The objective of my company is to bring everything that has to do with nature and sustainability, and bring it to the companies. But I must admit it’s very difficult.
There’s not a big market for that kind of service. Some companies are afraid about going in that direction because it’s not measurable. We need to convince clients that it’s not just the way they produce, but also how they manage the company.

What are some of the challenges to implementation and how can these be overcome?

The main challenge is the resistance of the people, because they have the perception that you’re an environmental activist, so I think it’s difficult to explain so that people understand what it’s about. They say, “I recycle so it’s fine.” But it’s not about that. It’s about daily work management and how nature can help you be more performant.
We need to educate people, but I feel it is too slow. We need to make an impact faster. It’s important that we come up with something we can show that’s scientifically proven. Most of these people stick to science—what is proven already. I have the impression that’s the only way to do it.

Would you recommend this training to other company leaders?

Of course, I already did! It’s a personal added value that you get because you think about nature and the impact it can have. And it can add value to their job, depending on the company, because they can either implement something and get more performant, or they can also have new products or services they can provide.